You cannot track the progress of setup steps that occur after the computer restarts when you distribute a package in Systems Management Server 2003

In Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, if you distribute a package that has more than one setup step, and the computer must restart between the steps, you cannot track the progress of the steps that occur after the computer restarts. Status messages are only generated for an advertisement until the computer restarts. No status messages are generated for the setup steps that are performed after the computer restarts. Therefore, the status that is reported may be inaccurate if these setup steps do not succeed.

This problem occurs because no Management Information Format (MIF) file is generated after the computer restarts. Therefore, Systems Management Server 2003 cannot track the setup status after the computer restarts.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.